After swirling the liquor in the balloon glass, and sniffing its bouquet, he said to James
`My dear Ratu, I fear I have bad news for you; but I did not want to spoil your day here by speaking of it earlier. I have decided against financing the project you put up to me.'
James's face fell a little as he asked, `May I ask why, Senhor?'
`Because enquiries lead me to believe that there is very little likelihood of any substantial amount of gold being in your sunken galleon. Great quantities of gold were taken by the Spaniards from Peru, but they sent it home to Spain across the Atlantic. It is true that their ships were constantly crossing the Pacific, to the Philippines and other countries in Asia. But there was no gold in such places for them to bring back, and no point in their sending any large sums out. The only purpose of these voyages across the Pacific was to send supplies to their colonists and return with cargoes of spices, silks and ivories. Therefore, I am now convinced that, should you succeed in bringing up anything there is to bring up, it will be only a few bags of doubloons that were being sent out to pay the Spanish garrisons. That is why I am not prepared to back you.'
Suddenly Olinda, her dark eyes flashing, leaned forward in her chair and cried, `That is not true! You are refusing because you are a coward! You are backing out because you have been threatened.' Her voice rose in a sneer. `Yes, you are letting the Ratu down because you have allowed yourself to become scared and by a woman!'
5 ?A Midnight Visitor
Valentim de Carvalho's swarthy face flushed and his heavily lidded eyes narrowed. For a moment he looked as though he was about to burst with rage, but he controlled himself, managed a slightly twisted smile and said acidly:
`My dear, I understand your disappointment. You are a born romantic and had set your heart upon this quest for treasure. But I am a financier, so naturally am opposed to throwing my money down the drain. That is my reason for refusing to finance the Ratu, not because I was warned that if I backed him certain people would make serious trouble for me.'
There was a moment's silence, then Gregory said, `I have been considering offering to participate in this speculation; so may I ask who was this woman who threatened you?'
De Carvalho shrugged his broad shoulders. `I don't know her name, but I met her at a reception at the British Embassy just before I went up to Guatemala. Our conversation was very brief. She came up to me and simply said, “I happen to know that you are thinking of financing the Ratu James Omboloku in his project of securing sunken treasure. Others are interested in this affair, and I have been instructed to give you warning that, should you do so, it will be the worse for you. The people I represent will stick at nothing to gain their ends, and unless you keep out of their way it may well cost you your life.”
`I was about to question her when the Ambassador's wife beckoned to me. As I acknowledged her signal, the woman slipped away and became lost in the crowd. Later I tried to find her, but failed. Evidently she had left soon after conveying her warning to me. I enquired of the Ambassador and several other people who she was, but no one could put a name to my description of her. That was not surprising, as at this reception there were several hundred people. More than that I cannot tell you.'
After a moment, Gregory asked, `Was the woman British or Brazilian?'
`Neither. Most of the people at the reception were, of course, talking in English, and it was in that language she addressed me. But she did not speak it very well. She was of medium height and I judged her to be in her middle thirties. She had dark hair, very fine eyes and a good figure. In fact I thought her quite striking; so I was all the more surprised later that no one should be able to tell me from my description who she was. I have no idea of her nationality, but she was a Mediterranean type Italian, French, Greek, or perhaps a Spaniard with a dash of Moorish blood.'
Gregory looked across at James. `Have you any idea who this woman could have been?'
`Not the faintest; and this occurrence astounds me. Until now I was entirely unaware that anyone else was interested in the old wreck and her gold.'
Standing up, de Carvalho said:
`Well, there we are. If Mr. Sallust still feels inclined to put up money for this treasure hunt, that is his affair. But you must count me out. And now, let us not spoil our evening by discussing this affair further. As my withdrawal must be depressing for the Ratu, instead, over a magnum of French champagne, we will talk of other things.'
The magnum was brought and for two hours that quickly slipped away de Carvalho laid himself out to be pleasant. He was extremely knowledgeable about Brazil 's chequered history and the succeeding waves of fortune and misfortune that had sent its economy seesawing. First, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries had come the sugar boom which made the owners of many great estates fabulously rich, but it was killed by the competition of the Caribbean Islands. Next, wealth came to Brazil as the world's greatest source of rubber; but by 1910 the planters of Malaya and the Dutch East Indies were underselling her, so that the flourishing towns on the Amazon soon became dying communities. Then Brazil held almost a monopoly in the export of coffee, but the competition of the African growers led in 1950 to vast, unsold surpluses having to be burned and many plantations being abandoned to return to jungle. Lumber, too, had had its boom and the country still had vast resources of timber, but transport made it difficult to exploit fully this source of wealth. Diamonds, tobacco, cotton and bananas all helped the economy, but Brazil 's greatest wealth lay in iron and other minerals. Two hundred miles north of Rio there was a mountain, composed almost entirely of iron ore, and so far only the top four hundred feet had been shaved off. The unexploited riches of the country were fabulous; hardly yet touched, and the vast interior, where primitive Indians were the only inhabitants, had, even yet, not been fully explored. Every endeavour to develop the country was thwarted by lack of capital and the scarcity of modern roads.
Olinda took little part in the conversation and at eleven o'clock went off to bed; but Valentim was obviously enjoying himself and when they had finished the magnum, insisted on making a King Cup, of more champagne laced with brandy. Gregory had a head like a rock, so survived the party; but, by the time it broke up, James, who was not accustomed to heavy drinking, was obviously very tight.
When the three men met next morning at breakfast, poor James was still very much under the weather, but de Carvalho said he would soon put him right and produced for him a drink made from the ground berries of the Guarana plant. This he declared to be a sovereign remedy for a hangover and, as he added cold water to the powder, he remarked with a laugh, `Many Brazilians drink this every morning, as it is said both to aid longevity and to be a mild aphrodisiac.'
Breakfast over, Valentim went to his study to write some letters. As soon as he had gone, Gregory asked James, `Have you still no idea who this woman is who threatened de Carvalho?'
James gave a rueful grin. `As far as my head permitted, I have been puzzling about that ever since I woke up. Who the woman was I haven't a notion, and I can think of only one person who would like to thwart my plans. That is old Roboumo, a witch doctor who lives on a small island near Revika, the capital of Tujoa, and has great influence over my people.'
`Why should he be opposed to your bettering their lot?'
`Because he would stand to lose by it. He controls a gang of bad men, and runs what, in modern terms, could be called a protection racket. They blackmail the superstitious into handing over a percentage of their slender earnings. If I could bring a modern way of life to Tujoa the people would no longer be superstitious, and would defy him. He would lose his power and he is determined to cling on to it.'